Media Coverage

By Dave Itzkoff on August 14, 2012

It's the kind of revelation that would melt the face of any die-hard Indiana Jones fan (this time, with joy): "Raiders of the Lost Ark," the 1981 adventure film that introduced that globe-trotting archaeologist, will receive a one-week Imax release next month, Lucasfilm said on Tuesday.

"For me, it's always been the bigger the screen, the better," Steven Spielberg, who directed "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and the three subsequent "Indiana Jones" sequels, said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "It's the only marked contrast we have to the generations that are seeing our movies on phones and hand-held platforms. It's a complete relief to be able to see a film that many people have just experienced on a palm-sized platform technology, suddenly hurled at that them on an Imax-sized screen."

Lucasfilm, the studio of the "Indiana Jones" executive producer George Lucas, said the Imax version of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" will receive a one-week theatrical release beginning on Sept. 7, in advance of the Blu-ray release of the Indiana Jones movies, which will go on sale Sept. 18. A list of theaters that will be showing the film can be found online at Imax.com.

Mr. Spielberg, who with the sound designer Ben Burtt supervised the conversion of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" to Imax, said that no special effects or other visual elements of the film were changed. The audio, he said, had been enhanced for surround sound: "When the boulder is rolling, chasing Indy through the cave, you really feel the boulder in your stomach, the way you do when a marching band passes by, and you're standing right next to it." Read the entire article here.

By Brent Lang on August 5, 2012

In a summer where Hollywood has fielded nearly as many high-priced flops as blockbuster behemoths, one sector of the movie business has remained remarkably consistent – IMAX.

Audiences, particularly fanboys, have remained intensely loyal to its mammoth 70mm screens at a time when theatrical attendance domestically has declined.

Overall, IMAX, which has struggled in the past with the seasonal ups and downs of the movie business has been a more consistent performer. In the most recent quarter IMAX posted revenue growth of 22.7 percent. That outpaces the industry average of 13.4 percent. Profits increased six-fold to $11.1 million.

And even while the recent shootings at a Colorado theater have cast a shadow over the industry, the last month has been outstanding for the large-screen format. “The Dark Knight Rises” is shattering box-office records for IMAX, earning $50 million in just two weeks of release.

During the Batman’s sequel’s $160.8 million opening weekend, IMAX accounted for nearly 12 percent of the film’s box office, despite making up less than 5 percent of the screens showing the movie. A company that ten years ago was best known for showing science documentaries and only began screening theatrical features with "Fantasia 2000" in 2000, has become a true Hollywood player.

Indeed, at a time where theatrical exhibition is facing fierce challenges from gaming, digital content and elaborate home-entertainment systems that allow consumers to watch films from the comfort of their couch, IMAX provides something that can only be found on its screens. Read the entire article on The Wrap's website.

By Jill Goldsmith on July 26, 2012

A strong box office buoyed Imax profits as more filmmakers film bigger chunks of their movies for the massive screens, the longest bit so far being 72 minutes of Warner Bros. "The Dark Knight Rises," and two big releases shoot in Imax simultaneously for the first time.

Imax needs to ramp up camera production to meet increased demand, said CEO Richard Gelfond on a conference call Thursday.

"Prometheus" and "The Amazing Spider-Man" used Imax sequences. 2013 highlights include J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" sequel and "Catching Fire," the second "The Hunger Games" installment.

Gelfond began the investor call saluting victims of the tragic theater shooting in Aurora, Colo. at a "Dark Knight" screening last week. "Our thoughts go out to them," he said.

For the three months ended in June, net profit surged to $11.1 million from $1.8 million the year before. Revenue rose 23% to $70 from $57 million.

Total film revenue of $26 million was up from $19 million Production and Imax DMR (digital media remastering) revenues were $19.7 million vs. $12.4 million. Gross box office from DMR titles was $173 million from $108 million the year before. Average box office per screen in rose to $341,900 from $315,700.

Imax signed contracts for 40 theatre systems and installed 20 during the quarter. It increased its 2012 installations scheduled from current backlog to approximately 110 new theatres, from a previous outlook of 95 to 100 new theatres.

There were 280 theatre systems in backlog as of June 30, 2012 compared to 261 systems in backlog at the end of March and 294 systems in backlog in the 2011 second quarter.

Gelfond said China is its fastest growing market outside the U.S. through a partnership with the Dalian Wanda Group, which is in the process of acquiring U.S. exhib AMC Entertainment. Imax expects to grow its China footprint by 50% year-on-year in 2012. Read the entire article on The Hollywood Reporter's website.

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